Ecclesiastes

1:1: The words of the Preacher, the son of David,
king in Jerusalem.
1:2: Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity
of vanities; all is vanity.
1:3: What profit hath a man of all his labour which
he taketh under the sun?
1:4: One generation passeth away, and another generation
cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.
1:5: The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down,
and hasteth to his place where he arose.
1:6: The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth
about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind
returneth again according to his circuits.
1:7: All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea
is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither
they return again.
1:8: All things are full of labour; man cannot utter
it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with
hearing.
1:9: The thing that hath been, it is that which shall
be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there
is no new thing under the sun.
1:10: Is there any thing whereof it may be said,
See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was
before us.
1:11: There is no remembrance of former things; neither
shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with
those that shall come after.
1:12: I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
1:13: And I gave my heart to seek and search out
by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this
sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised
therewith.
1:14: I have seen all the works that are done under
the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
1:15: That which is crooked cannot be made straight:
and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.
1:16: I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo,
I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all
they that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had
great experience of wisdom and knowledge.
1:17: And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to
know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation
of spirit.
1:18: For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that
increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
2:1: I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove
thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also
is vanity.
2:2: I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth,
What doeth it?
2:3: I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine,
yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom; and to lay hold on folly,
till I might see what was that good for the sons of men, which
they should do under the heaven all the days of their life.
2:4: I made me great works; I builded me houses;
I planted me vineyards:
2:5: I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted
trees in them of all kind of fruits:
2:6: I made me pools of water, to water therewith
the wood that bringeth forth trees:
2:7: I got me servants and maidens, and had servants
born in my house; also I had great possessions of great and small
cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me:
2:8: I gathered me also silver and gold, and the
peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces: I gat me men
singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men,
as musical instruments, and that of all sorts.
2:9: So I was great, and increased more than all
that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with
me.
2:10: And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not
from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart
rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour.
2:11: Then I looked on all the works that my hands
had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and,
behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no
profit under the sun.
2:12: And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness,
and folly: for what can the man do that cometh after the king?
even that which hath been already done.
2:13: Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as
far as light excelleth darkness.
2:14: The wise man's eyes are in his head; but the
fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one
event happeneth to them all.
2:15: Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to
the fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then more
wise? Then I said in my heart, that this also is vanity.
2:16: For there is no remembrance of the wise more
than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now is in the days
to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieth the wise man?
as the fool.
2:17: Therefore I hated life; because the work that
is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity
and vexation of spirit.
2:18: Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken
under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall
be after me.
2:19: And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise
man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein
I have laboured, and wherein I have shewed myself wise under the
sun. This is also vanity.
2:20: Therefore I went about to cause my heart to
despair of all the labour which I took under the sun.
2:21: For there is a man whose labour is in wisdom,
and in knowledge, and in equity; yet to a man that hath not laboured
therein shall he leave it for his portion. This also is vanity
and a great evil.
2:22: For what hath man of all his labour, and of
the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the
sun?
2:23: For all his days are sorrows, and his travail
grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also
vanity.
2:24: There is nothing better for a man, than that
he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy
good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand
of God.
2:25: For who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto,
more than I?
2:26: For God giveth to a man that is good in his
sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth
travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that
is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.
3:1: To every thing there is a season, and a time
to every purpose under the heaven:
3:2: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time
to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
3:3: A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to
break down, and a time to build up;
3:4: A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time
to mourn, and a time to dance;
3:5: A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather
stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from
embracing;
3:6: A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to
keep, and a time to cast away;
3:7: A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to
keep silence, and a time to speak;
3:8: A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of
war, and a time of peace.
3:9: What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein
he laboureth?
3:10: I have seen the travail, which God hath given
to the sons of men to be exercised in it.
3:11: He hath made every thing beautiful in his time:
also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can
find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.
3:12: I know that there is no good in them, but for
a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life.
3:13: And also that every man should eat and drink,
and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.
3:14: I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall
be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from
it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.
3:15: That which hath been is now; and that which
is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.
3:16: And moreover I saw under the sun the place
of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness,
that iniquity was there.
3:17: I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous
and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and
for every work.
3:18: I said in mine heart concerning the estate
of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they
might see that they themselves are beasts.
3:19: For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth
beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth
the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no
preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.
3:20: All go unto one place; all are of the dust,
and all turn to dust again.
3:21: Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward,
and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?
3:22: Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing
better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that
is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after
him?
4:1: So I returned, and considered all the oppressions
that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were
oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their
oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter.
4:2: Wherefore I praised the dead which are already
dead more than the living which are yet alive.
4:3: Yea, better is he than both they, which hath
not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under
the sun.
4:4: Again, I considered all travail, and every right
work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbour. This is
also vanity and vexation of spirit.
4:5: The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth
his own flesh.
4:6: Better is an handful with quietness, than both
the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit.
4:7: Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the
sun.
4:8: There is one alone, and there is not a second;
yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of
all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither
saith he, For whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good?
This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore travail.
4:9: Two are better than one; because they have a
good reward for their labour.
4:10: For if they fall, the one will lift up his
fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath
not another to help him up.
4:11: Again, if two lie together, then they have
heat: but how can one be warm alone?
4:12: And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand
him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
4:13: Better is a poor and a wise child than an old
and foolish king, who will no more be admonished.
4:14: For out of prison he cometh to reign; whereas
also he that is born in his kingdom becometh poor.
4:15: I considered all the living which walk under
the sun, with the second child that shall stand up in his stead.
4:16: There is no end of all the people, even of
all that have been before them: they also that come after shall
not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and vexation of
spirit.
5:1: Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of
God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of
fools: for they consider not that they do evil.
5:2: Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine
heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven,
and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.
5:3: For a dream cometh through the multitude of
business; and a fool's voice is known by multitude of words.
5:4: When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to
pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou
hast vowed.
5:5: Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than
that thou shouldest vow and not pay.
5:6: Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin;
neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore
should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine
hands?
5:7: For in the multitude of dreams and many words
there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God.
5:8: If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and
violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel
not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth;
and there be higher than they.
5:9: Moreover the profit of the earth is for all:
the king himself is served by the field.
5:10: He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied
with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this
is also vanity.
5:11: When goods increase, they are increased that
eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving
the beholding of them with their eyes?
5:12: The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether
he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not
suffer him to sleep.
5:13: There is a sore evil which I have seen under
the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt.
5:14: But those riches perish by evil travail: and
he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand.
5:15: As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked
shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his
labour, which he may carry away in his hand.
5:16: And this also is a sore evil, that in all points
as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath
laboured for the wind?
5:17: All his days also he eateth in darkness, and
he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness.
5:18: Behold that which I have seen: it is good and
comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all
his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life,
which God giveth him: for it is his portion.
5:19: Every man also to whom God hath given riches
and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take
his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of
God.
5:20: For he shall not much remember the days of
his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart.
6:1: There is an evil which I have seen under the
sun, and it is common among men:
6:2: A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth,
and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that
he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but
a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.
6:3: If a man beget an hundred children, and live
many years, so that the days of his years be many, and his soul
be not filled with good, and also that he have no burial; I say,
that an untimely birth is better than he.
6:4: For he cometh in with vanity, and departeth
in darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness.
6:5: Moreover he hath not seen the sun, nor known
any thing: this hath more rest than the other.
6:6: Yea, though he live a thousand years twice told,
yet hath he seen no good: do not all go to one place?
6:7: All the labour of man is for his mouth, and
yet the appetite is not filled.
6:8: For what hath the wise more than the fool?
what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living?
6:9: Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering
of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit.
6:10: That which hath been is named already, and
it is known that it is man: neither may he contend with him that
is mightier than he.
6:11: Seeing there be many things that increase vanity,
what is man the better?
6:12: For who knoweth what is good for man in this
life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow?
for who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?
7:1: A good name is better than precious ointment;
and the day of death than the day of one's birth.
7:2: It is better to go to the house of mourning,
than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all
men; and the living will lay it to his heart.
7:3: Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness
of the countenance the heart is made better.
7:4: The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning;
but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
7:5: It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise,
than for a man to hear the song of fools.
7:6: For as the crackling of thorns under a pot,
so is the laughter of the fool: this also is vanity.
7:7: Surely oppression maketh a wise man mad; and
a gift destroyeth the heart.
7:8: Better is the end of a thing than the beginning
thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in
spirit.
7:9: Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for
anger resteth in the bosom of fools.
7:10: Say not thou, What is the cause that the former
days were better than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely
concerning this.
7:11: Wisdom is good with an inheritance: and by
it there is profit to them that see the sun.
7:12: For wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence:
but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to
them that have it.
7:13: Consider the work of God: for who can make
that straight, which he hath made crooked?
7:14: In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in
the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over
against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after
him.
7:15: All things have I seen in the days of my vanity:
there is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there
is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness.
7:16: Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself
over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself?
7:17: Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish:
why shouldest thou die before thy time?
7:18: It is good that thou shouldest take hold of
this; yea, also from this withdraw not thine hand: for he that
feareth God shall come forth of them all.
7:19: Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten
mighty men which are in the city.
7:20: For there is not a just man upon earth, that
doeth good, and sinneth not.
7:21: Also take no heed unto all words that are spoken;
lest thou hear thy servant curse thee:
7:22: For oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth
that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others.
7:23: All this have I proved by wisdom: I said, I
will be wise; but it was far from me.
7:24: That which is far off, and exceeding deep,
who can find it out?
7:25: I applied mine heart to know, and to search,
and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things, and to know
the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness:
7:26: And I find more bitter than death the woman,
whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso
pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken
by her.
7:27: Behold, this have I found, saith the preacher,
counting one by one, to find out the account:
7:28: Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not:
one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those
have I not found.
7:29: Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made
man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.
8:1: Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the
interpretation of a thing? a man's wisdom maketh his face to
shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed.
8:2: I counsel thee to keep the king's commandment,
and that in regard of the oath of God.
8:3: Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not
in an evil thing; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him.
8:4: Where the word of a king is, there is power:
and who may say unto him, What doest thou?
8:5: Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no
evil thing: and a wise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment.
8:6: Because to every purpose there is time and judgment,
therefore the misery of man is great upon him.
8:7: For he knoweth not that which shall be: for
who can tell him when it shall be?
8:8: There is no man that hath power over the spirit
to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death:
and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness
deliver those that are given to it.
8:9: All this have I seen, and applied my heart unto
every work that is done under the sun: there is a time wherein
one man ruleth over another to his own hurt.
8:10: And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come
and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in
the city where they had so done: this is also vanity.
8:11: Because sentence against an evil work is not
executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully
set in them to do evil.
8:12: Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and
his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well
with them that fear God, which fear before him:
8:13: But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither
shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth
not before God.
8:14: There is a vanity which is done upon the earth;
that there be just men, unto whom it happeneth according to the
work of the wicked; again, there be wicked men, to whom it happeneth
according to the work of the righteous: I said that this also
is vanity.
8:15: Then I commended mirth, because a man hath
no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and
to be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labour the days
of his life, which God giveth him under the sun.
8:16: When I applied mine heart to know wisdom, and
to see the business that is done upon the earth: (for also there
is that neither day nor night seeth sleep with his eyes:)
8:17: Then I beheld all the work of God, that a man
cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because though
a man labour to seek it out, yet he shall not find it; yea further;
though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to
find it.
9:1: For all this I considered in my heart even to
declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their
works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred
by all that is before them.
9:2: All things come alike to all: there is one event
to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean,
and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth
not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as
he that feareth an oath.
9:3: This is an evil among all things that are done
under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the
heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their
heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.
9:4: For to him that is joined to all the living
there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
9:5: For the living know that they shall die: but
the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward;
for the memory of them is forgotten.
9:6: Also their love, and their hatred, and their
envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for
ever in any thing that is done under the sun.
9:7: Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink
thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works.
9:8: Let thy garments be always white; and let thy
head lack no ointment.
9:9: Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest
all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee
under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion
in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun.
9:10: Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with
thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor
wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
9:11: I returned, and saw under the sun, that the
race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither
yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding,
nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth
to them all.
9:12: For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes
that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught
in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when
it falleth suddenly upon them.
9:13: This wisdom have I seen also under the sun,
and it seemed great unto me:
9:14: There was a little city, and few men within
it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and
built great bulwarks against it:
9:15: Now there was found in it a poor wise man,
and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered
that same poor man.
9:16: Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength:
nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words
are not heard.
9:17: The words of wise men are heard in quiet more
than the cry of him that ruleth among fools.
9:18: Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one
sinner destroyeth much good.
10:1: Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary
to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that
is in reputation for wisdom and honour.
10:2: A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but
a fool's heart at his left.
10:3: Yea also, when he that is a fool walketh by
the way, his wisdom faileth him, and he saith to every one that
he is a fool.
10:4: If the spirit of the ruler rise up against
thee, leave not thy place; for yielding pacifieth great offences.
10:5: There is an evil which I have seen under the
sun, as an error which proceedeth from the ruler:
10:6: Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich
sit in low place.
10:7: I have seen servants upon horses, and princes
walking as servants upon the earth.
10:8: He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and
whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him.
10:9: Whoso removeth stones shall be hurt therewith;
and he that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby.
10:10: If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the
edge, then must he put to more strength: but wisdom is profitable
to direct.
10:11: Surely the serpent will bite without enchantment;
and a babbler is no better.
10:12: The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious;
but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself.
10:13: The beginning of the words of his mouth is
foolishness: and the end of his talk is mischievous madness.
10:14: A fool also is full of words: a man cannot
tell what shall be; and what shall be after him, who can tell
him?
10:15: The labour of the foolish wearieth every one
of them, because he knoweth not how to go to the city.
10:16: Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child,
and thy princes eat in the morning!
10:17: Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is
the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength,
and not for drunkenness!
10:18: By much slothfulness the building decayeth;
and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through.
10:19: A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh
merry: but money answereth all things.
10:20: Curse not the king, no not in thy thought;
and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air
shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the
matter.
11:1: Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt
find it after many days.
11:2: Give a portion to seven, and also to eight;
for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.
11:3: If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves
upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward
the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall
be.
11:4: He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and
he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.
11:5: As thou knowest not what is the way of the
spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with
child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all.
11:6: In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening
withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper,
either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.
11:7: Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing
it is for the eyes to behold the sun:
11:8: But if a man live many years, and rejoice in
them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they
shall be many. All that cometh is vanity.
11:9: Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let
thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the
ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know
thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.
11:10: Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and
put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.
12:1: Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy
youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh,
when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
12:2: While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or
the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:
12:3: In the day when the keepers of the house shall
tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders
cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows
be darkened,
12:4: And the doors shall be shut in the streets,
when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at
the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be
brought low;
12:5: Also when they shall be afraid of that which
is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall
flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall
fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go
about the streets:
12:6: Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden
bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the
wheel broken at the cistern.
12:7: Then shall the dust return to the earth as
it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
12:8: Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all
is vanity.
12:9: And moreover, because the preacher was wise,
he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed,
and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.
12:10: The preacher sought to find out acceptable
words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.
12:11: The words of the wise are as goads, and as
nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from
one shepherd.
12:12: And further, by these, my son, be admonished:
of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness
of the flesh.
12:13: Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty
of man.
12:14: For God shall bring every work into judgment,
with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be
evil.